As the Deputy will be aware, my Department recently sought information on out-patient appointment times from all acute hospitals to assess whether any particular difficulties had arisen in relation to adherence to the standards specified in the Patients' Charter. The Deputy will appreciate that it took time to collect all the relevant information. However, my Department has now received responses from all the acute hospitals and is currently finalising its analysis in this regard.
The initial analysis shows that in a small number of hospitals it has not been possible to date to fully implement the Patients' Charter guidelines regarding out-patient appointment times due to logistical and other factors. However, these hospitals have confirmed they are currently reviewing their practices with a view to offering individual appointment times. The survey also indicates that some hospitals offer appointments on a staggered basis with the interval between appointments set in line with the requirements of the individual clinics and experience has shown that this is the most effective way of operating these clinics. Once again, the hospitals have indicated that they are keeping this practice under review to ensure that patient interest is served. In addition, some hospitals are currently carrying out individual patient satisfaction surveys and the specific issue of out-patient appointments is being examined in this context. As I indicated to the Deputy in June 1999, once my Department's analysis on this issue is complete, I will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that the provisions of the charter are being met.
The development of mechanisms for improvements in patient advocacy is an important task for my Department and, in this regard, my objective is to provide a patient focused service within which the priority must be equity of access to high quality of care based on clinical need. The Patients' Charter was an important step in developing awareness of patient's rights and I intend to develop a comprehensive policy which will build on the good standards of practice which the charter provides.